Casterton is a town in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, located on the
Glenelg Highway
Glenelg Highway is a rural highway in south-eastern Australia, linking Mount Gambier with Ballarat. Most of the highway is located within the Western part of the state of Victoria, though a short, 15 km stretch from the South Australia/V ...
, 42 kilometres east of the
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
n border, in the
Shire of Glenelg
The Shire of Glenelg is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 19,665. It includes the towns of ...
. The
Glenelg River passes through the town. Casterton is named after the village of
Casterton in south-east
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
in England.
History
Prior to white settlement, Aboriginal people of the Konongwootong Gundidj clan lived in the local area. The first white explorers to pass through the area were the expedition led by
Major Thomas Mitchell
Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (15 June 1792 – 5 October 1855), Surveyor (surveying), surveyor and European land exploration of Australia, explorer of Southeastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. In 1827 he too ...
in 1836 who spoke enthusiastically of the landscape's ''green hills, soft soils and flowery plains'', describing it as ideal for farming and settlement, naming it ''Australia Felix''.
[http://www.swvic.org/casterton/Casterton%20&%20Surrounding%20Districts%20History.doc ]
The first white settlers in the area were the Henty brothers who had landed in
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, Victoria in 1834 and who claimed 28,000 hectares between what are now the towns of Casterton and
Coleraine
Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...
. 'Warrock' Station, a sheep farming settlement, was established in 1841, 26 km north of what would be Casterton.
The township of Casterton began on the crossing site of the Glenelg River, the location having been surveyed in 1840, and the first pub, the Glenelg Inn, was established in 1846 with a post-office opening the following year.
The early history of the region was marred by violent clashes between settlers and Indigenous people, including multiple murders of Aboriginals that took place near Casterton in the late 1830s and early 1840s.
In 1891, a large number of Casterton women signed the Women's Suffrage Petition to be tabled in the Victorian Parliament to grant women the right to vote (which was not allowed until 1908). By the 1890s, increasing soil erosion saw wheat-farming around Casterton begin to decline and it was largely replaced by meat, wool and dairy farming. Casterton's population expanded in the early 20th century, especially in the 1920s with the arrival of large numbers of soldier-settler farmers and during the post-war era in the 1950s.
The Rail line to Casterton was closed 12 September 1977.
The town's population began to decline in the 1990s which was consistent with the statewide trend of decreasing populations in many rural areas and the ageing of the local population. As of the
2021 census, the town had a population of 1,673 with the average age being 58.
Traditional ownership
The formally recognised
traditional owners
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
for the area in which Casterton sits are the
Gunditjmara People
The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of southwestern Victoria (Australia), Victoria. They are the traditional owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorp ...
who are represented by the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.
Timeline
* 1840 Location of Casterton is first surveyed
* 1846-1847 Opening of Casterton's first pub and post office
* 1855 First Horse Racing Meet held in Casterton
* 1870 The local newspaper-''
The Casterton News''-is first published
* 1875 Casterton Football Club is founded
* 1884 A railway link from
Branxholme, Victoria
Branxholme is a township in the Shire of Southern Grampians in the Western District of Victoria, Australia on the Henty Highway between Heywood and Hamilton. At the 2016 census, Branxholme and the surrounding area had a population of 351.
...
to Casterton is established.
* 1908 Establishment of Casterton Hospital
* 1936 Official Opening of Casterton Town Hall
* 1955 Casterton Elementary High School is built on the current site (now Casterton Secondary College)
* 1977 Railway closed.
The kelpie
![Casterton Kelpie Monument 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Casterton_Kelpie_Monument_001.JPG)
Casterton lays claim to be the birthplace of the breed of working dog known as the
kelpie
A kelpie, or water kelpie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Each-Uisge''), is a shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lochs in Scottish folklore. It is usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie ...
, a Scottish term meaning 'Water Sprite' and a name given to a black and tan bitch British working collie owned by Scotsman George Patterson, a farmer who lived north of Casterton in the 1870s. Patterson exchanged 'Kelpie' for a horse and the dog's new owner, a drover named Jack Gleeson, took her to
Ardlethan, NSW where she mated with a black male Rutherford Sheepdog named 'Moss', producing several litters. Kelpie later mated with another male named 'Caesar', producing a female pup named 'King's Kelpie' which grew to become a champion sheepdog.
The breed was further developed and refined during the next few decades. Ardlethan also lays claim to be the birthplace of the breed.
In 1997, a working dog auction was held in Casterton, an annual event which grew to become the Casterton Kelpie Festival in 2001. The auction and festival event is now held each June in Casterton.
To mark Casterton's 150th anniversary celebrations in 1996, a bronze sculpture of a kelpie by artist
Peter Corlett
Peter Corlett OAM (born 1944) is an Australian sculptor, known for his full-figure sculptures cast in bronze, especially his memorial works.
Corlett studied sculpture at RMIT University, Melbourne, from 1961 to 1964. In 1975, he was awarde ...
was unveiled in front of Casterton's Town Hall.
The Fleur de Lys
A large version of the Fleur de Lys, used as the emblem of the
Scouts
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
, is carved into Toorak Hill, a steep hill overlooking the eastern end of Casterton's main thoroughfare. The design has a circumference of 91 metres. In 1935, the Boy-Scouts and Cubs, in honour of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
, carved a large-scale version of the words 'The King' into the hill, each letter some six metres long. Encouraged by the success of this, the Scouts, to celebrate the 1941 opening of the town's new Scout-hall, carved the
Fleur de Lys
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol.
The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
emblem into the hill and lit it up at night with the aid of a series of tins filled with oil-soaked rags which were set alight. Years later, the design was lit by electric strip lighting and is illuminated on most evenings throughout the year.
Community
The town has a Community Centre, a weekly local newspaper and hosts many activities throughout the year.
The town has an
Australian Rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
team competing in the
Western Border Football League
The Western Border Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Lower South East region of South Australia, and south-western border region of Victoria. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Foo ...
. Casterton Football Club, originally formed in 1875, won the Western District League Premiership 12 times between 1892 and 1963 and has won the Western Border League Premiership twice, in 1969 and 1990.
The Casterton Racing Club schedules around four horse race meetings a year including the Casterton Cup meeting in May or June.
Golfers play at the Casterton Golf Club on Penola Road.
The town has a public outdoor swimming pool, a hospital, a secondary college and State and Catholic primary schools.
Notable residents
Notable residents of Casterton include:
*
William Ball (diplomat, radio announcer & academic)
*
Clarice Beckett
Clarice Marjoribanks Beckett (21 March 1887 – 7 July 1935) was an Australian artist and a key member of the Australian tonalist movement. Known for her subtle, misty landscapes of Melbourne and its suburbs, Beckett developed a personal style ...
(painter)
*
Thomas George Cue (gold prospector who the town of
Cue, WA was named after)
*
Barry Gill
Barry Gill (born 21 January 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
A member of one of Carlton's famous footballing families, Gill was regarded as a dependa ...
(Australian Rules football player)
*
John Gill John Gill may refer to:
Sports
*John Gill (cricketer) (1854–1888), New Zealand cricketer
*John Gill (coach) (1898–1997), American football coach
*John Gill (footballer, born 1903), English professional footballer
*John Gill (American football) ...
(Australian Rules football player)
*
Dame Mary Gilmore
Dame Mary Jean Gilmore (née Cameron; 16 August 18653 December 1962) was an Australian writer and journalist known for her prolific contributions to Australian literature and the broader national discourse. She wrote both prose and poetry.
Gi ...
(writer, political activist & journalist)
*
Murray Matheson (actor)
*
Kathryn Mitchell
Kathryn Mitchell (born 10 July 1982) is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She has represented her country at three Olympic Games, finishing ninth in 2012 and sixth in 2016. She won gold at the 2018 Common ...
(athlete)
*
Alan Richardson (Australian Rules football player)
*
Max Rooke
Max Rooke (born Jarad Maxwell Rooke on 19 December 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer, who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A utility player, tall and weighing , Rooke's versatility al ...
(Australian Rules football player).
afl.com.au
/ref>
References
External links
Casterton Now -local information site
Casterton District Pioneers and History
* ttp://www.theage.com.au/news/Victoria/Casterton/2005/02/17/1108500206301.html Short History of Casterton, Victoria
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Towns in Victoria (Australia)
Western District (Victoria)